They haven't got dementia have they?

John suffers with dementia but you would not know it. I have been visiting him for nearly a year now and he always knows who I am; what he is doing and where he is going. I have often wondered why I make the visits as he has always got up and got dressed, has taken his medication and remembers to put his pendant alarm on.
Yes he is a bit shy and it has taken me a long time to build a trust with him but he seems ok

Pam suffers with dementia but you would not know it. I have been seeing her for about six months; she also knows who I am, when I will arrive, and even drives a car to her grandson on most days to do her washing. Sure she loses her keys on a daily basis but then so do I. She occasionally repeats herself but then who doesn't. The only sign that I can see is her obsession with cleaning; she never stops, but there are lots of people like that too.


So have they really got dementia?
The trouble is that dementia comes in so many different forms

John is having his apartment refurbished and the change in routine really agitating him and making him anxious. When I arrive he is pacing back and forward and won't sit down, He keeps going over and over  the same things and worrying about when it will all be finished.  I sit with him for about half an hour longer than I should but eventually have to leave him on his own. I speak to the warden and she promised to pop back in later. Yes, he has dementia!

 

Pam's medication runs out for her dementia  and because it is the weekend the chemist has not got any in stock until Monday. I arrive on Sunday to find Pam tearful and paranoid that someone is trying to get into her house. The cat has gone missing and in her imagination the woman next door has killed it  (just because she said she does not like cats) and because of a passing comment from someone about cleanliness she is scrubbing the kitchen floor more rigorously than normal. I stay a bit longer and to try and calm her down but until Monday the problem can't be solved. Yes, she has dementia! ............



.........but whatever you do don't mention it in front of her or you'll feel the sharp end of her tongue.

Whenever she asks me what her tablets are for I always tactfully say they are for blood pressure or bones; unfortunately a new carer went in and when asked, told her that the little white one was to keep her anxiety down because she has dementia.  This was an unwise move because not only did she tell the carer in no uncertain terms that she did not have dementia but then proceeded to tell me about it every day for the next fortnight.

'I mean I don't have dementia do I, Bloody cheek'